Washington High
by bauerfreak
Summary: Psychotically AU! The staff most of them as high school teachers! Mostly JD centered. On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One Part One

Hello, all! So, I still have one more chapter to write for "The Lyman Twins", but this one just started flowing. I'm just throwing this out there. This fic is not for everyone – the West Wingers aren't even involved in politics in this story, they're all teachers. This fic will be mostly centered around J/D and their kids because they're my favorites. I really have no idea where I'm going with this, so if you have any awesome suggestions, feel free to send them! I hope you don't think I'm too psychotic and messed up. If you think this is awful, please tell me (but gently, please!). This chapter was really long, so I split it into two parts. Please review!

By Friday morning, everyone was always dead tired in the Lyman household and this one was no different. The world seemed asleep when Josh Lyman shut his alarm clock off. Whether it was getting up at six every day or the endless amount of work that went into his job, Josh was always ready for the week to end.

He rubbed his eyes, letting out a tired sigh that seemed to go throughout his entire body and swung his feet over the bed. As he looked around the room, everything was blurry. Finally, he glanced over at the clock on his bedside table. 7:03. 7:03?

"Shit!" He yelled, waving his hand up in the air in defeat. If his girlish scream hadn't woken his children yet, all three would now get a rude awakening. Josh bolted out of the bedroom door and darted to the left.

"Brandon!" he yelled as he hurriedly forced open the door. The door was stopped about six inches out due to a large pile of dirty clothes on the floor, but he finally managed to poke his head through. "Brandon, get up we're really late!" He told his second-oldest. From beneath the sheets, fifteen-year old freshman Brandon Lyman stirred and picked his head up, still not sure what was going on.

"Huh?"

Josh tried to push the door open again, and with a few hard pushes, finally succeeded.

"It's already after seven, sport, we need to get a move on." He ratted on as he hopped over a few piles to finally reach his son's window. With one quick pull, the blinds were open and the morning sun poured into the hideous bedroom.

"Jesus, dad. This is, like, the second Friday in a row this has happened. Your alarm clock sucks." Josh had been known by many of his colleagues and friends to not have a good track record when it came to being on time to work late in the week. Nobody could blame him. He was a single father raising three kids on a teacher's salary.

"I've told you to get your own alarm clock." Josh reminded his son as he hopped his way back to the bedroom door. "What are you going to do when you get to college? Ask me to call you each morning? I don't think so! Move it!"

Brandon started to roll out of bed, motivated by the chance of getting to the bathroom before either of his sisters. On days like this, he would be lucky to get any mirror time if one was already in there.

Next, Josh dashed diagonally across the hall to his youngest daughter's room. Madeline Marie Lyman, aged eleven, looked like a young angel as she slept peacefully beneath her pale yellow comforter. With one arm posed gently above her head, he almost didn't have the heart to wake her. Though he really didn't have a moment to spare, Josh stopped a few moments to watch her sleeping so serenely. It looked as if she didn't have a care in the world. Finally, he strode carefully across the room and knelt down next to her bed. Stroking her hair back gently, he whispered her name as non-urgently as possible to wake her.

"Madeline? Maddy? Time to wake up." He told her and she began to stir. She pawed at her face with the back of her hand as she started her routine cat stretch of the morning.

"What time is it?" She croaked out.

"7:07." He told her and anticipated a screech. Immediately, the growing pre-teen girl sat up straight in bed and hopped out.

"7:07! Jesus, dad! Why don't you set two alarms?" Maddy complained, echoing her brother without knowing it. Josh thought to himself that the serenity of his youngest sleeping was now over. A sixth grader full of energy, Madeline was definitely the spunkiest of the three of his children. You never would have guess it as a baby – she chose to wait around a full two extra weeks before she decided to show her pretty face. That was one of the best and worst moments of his life – the moment when one of his children was born and the moment he lost his wife forever. The spunkiness and demand for attention came days later for baby Maddy. Colic was an understatement. It was as if she knew that something had been taken from her far too early; that she'd been cheated out of getting to know her mother Marie.

"Or you could get one!" Josh suggested again, following Maddy out of her bedroom as she made her way to the bathroom she shared with two siblings. Finding that the door was already closed, she banged on it, demanding her brother to get out. "Patience, Maddy, patience." Josh told her as he at last went across the hall to his oldest daughter's room, Carly. Carly had just begun her junior year of high school and was the only child of his that Josh thought of as responsible – almost too responsible. Josh knocked gently on her bedroom door and called her name before he pushed on it.

"What, dad?" Came a voice from inside. As Josh opened the door all the way, he could see that seventeen-year-old Carly was already dressed and ready to go, finishing with her make-up at her vanity center.

"How long have you been up? I thought you'd be snuggled up in bed." He questioned her with one hand on his hip. Carly turned her head and gave her father a sweet smile.

"Since 6:15."

"And you didn't think to come wake me up?"

"Sorry. I wanted the bathroom to myself." She replied innocently. Josh opened his mouth to speak but didn't know what to say. After a few seconds, he finally managed.

"Get your brother and sister moving and we'll discuss this later." He told his daughter with amusement in his voice and with a point of his finger.

"Whatever, dad." Carly chuckled. Carly really was the responsible child of the family. Faced with difficult circumstances at far too early an age, Carly had taken on the mother role to her two younger siblings. She was very mature and wise for her age and this sometimes made Josh forget that she was only seventeen and not yet an adult.

As Josh exited Carly's room, he assumed that he'd still see Maddy pounding on the bathroom door to get her brother out, but silence fell on his ears. It was almost 7:10 and they needed to leave by 7:20, so he quickly headed off to his bedroom where he thankfully had his own bathroom to get ready in. As he headed towards the bathroom door, Josh soon discovered why there was no pounding on the other door.

"Madeline Marie Lyman, you've got to be kidding me!" He knocked on the bathroom door. "Get out of there this instant, that's my bathroom!"

"Not anymore!" He heard her call back, teasing him.

"You'll pay for this, young lady!"

"Oooh, I'm really scared!" Maddy laughed. Josh and Madeline got a big kick out of each other, having similar personalities and the same sense of humor. Even though she was growing up quickly, she was still his baby girl and he'd always be so protective of her.

"Dad!" He heard from around the corner. Josh spun around to see Carly standing in the doorway. He raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah?"

"You will still be able to leave at 3:30 today, won't you?" Her face was serious.

"Oh!" He remembered, rubbing his face with his hand. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, sweetheart. Three thirty's fine."

Josh taught history at the high school where Carly and Brandon went. He'd been teaching at Washington High for almost twenty years now, since before he was even married. Two years ago when Carly started at Washington, it was a little weird seeing her around the building and hearing about her in conversations and having some of her friends in class. It had been an adjustment, but they got used to hearing about each other by the end of the first year. Now, Josh was going through the same thing with Brandon.

Josh had agreed to let Carly have a few friends over that night for a sleepover. All the girls Josh had known pretty much their entire lives because their parents were also colleagues of his. They'd all been friends for years before their children were born, some even going back to the college years. All their children were born close to the same time, so they occasionally had each other's kids in class also.

"Great." She said and turned to go down the stairs.

"Carly!" He stopped her. Carly leaned back to listen. "Remember what we talked about? No more than the four of you and keep it down."

"Okay." She said sarcastically, making a funny face. Josh knew she was joking around but gave her an evil glare. Carly rolled her eyes and headed down the stairs.

By 7:20, everyone was in the car, breakfast bars in hand with Josh trying to drive with one hand. Carly was in the front seat and was messing with the radio.

"Get off." Josh told his daughter, lightly slapping her hand.

"Dad! We never get to listen to our music."

"That's because it sucks and it should be outlawed."

"Just because it's not prehistoric doesn't mean it's not good."

"Don't get me started on today's music." He glanced in his rearview mirror at Brandon and Madeline. "Brandon, did you get your AP speech written last night?"

"Yeah, dad. I'm sure Mr. Ziegler will be impressed."

Madeline spoke up, "What is AP speech anyways? For people who can talk really really fast?" She laughed at her own joke. It got a chuckle from her father.

"Maddy, that was worse than one of dad's jokes." Her older sister commented.

At Washington High School, the new English teacher, Ms. Donna Moss, was getting things ready in her classroom. She'd recently moved here after divorcing her husband with her two children. Her oldest, Justin, was especially upset because this was his senior year and he had to change schools. Her daughter Ali was eleven years old and a little more optimistic. After dropping Ali off at her elementary school, Justin was stuck hanging around in his mom's room until the bell rang.

"Sweetheart, did you get your history homework done at a reasonable time last night?" Donna looked up from her desk at her son, perched on one of the student desks nearby looking rather sullen.

"Yes, mom." He groaned. Justin hadn't exactly been easy to get along with lately with all his resentment towards his parents for his current situation. It was still only a few weeks into the school year and hadn't really made many friends yet.

"You know how strict Mr. Lyman is about turning those in on time."

"I got it done, mom. Don't worry."

"Just checking. Oh, are you coming to Ali's meet tomorrow or not? We need to leave at eight a.m." His mother's questions were never really questions but suggestions. The look on Justin's face showed his obvious lack of being able to argue with her.

"Justin, it would mean so much to her. You know how nervous she gets at those things, with dozens of gymnasts her age or older. She's terrified, and with dad not there…"

"Mom, okay!" Justin didn't like conversations that turned in to anything to do with his dad. He frankly didn't want to see him or hear about him. "I'll go. I'd just rather sleep in. Seeing preteens dance around like fairies doesn't exactly thrill me."

Donna ran a hand through her long, straight blonde hair in frustration. Life hadn't exactly been easy since leaving her husband. She was frustrated; the kids were frustrated; and she still didn't know anyone close by she could rely on. She clung to her children and found her joy in her interaction with them and her students.

"I know, Justin. Thank you for doing it."

The bell rang for the students to be released into the building for the beginning of school. The students had ten minutes to go to their lockers and get to class.

"Have a good day, Justin. I love you." Donna looked up at him from sorting some papers at her desk. Justin apathetically picked himself up and headed out the door with a simple goodbye.

Josh Lyman had just dropped his youngest daughter off at her elementary school two blocks away and was now "walking quickly" – but not quite running – down the hallway to his classroom with his two kids close behind him (it wouldn't be cool to walk with him). He had a test to give first period and the kids got mad when they didn't have their ten minutes before class to cram for it.

"Bye, kids, have a good day." Josh said over his shoulder as he passed the hallway where his two offspring would turn to get to their lockers.

"Three thirty! Don't forget!" He heard Carly yell to him. Josh waved his hand above his head in acknowledgement. He walked quickly up the stairs to the second floor. Josh knew all the kids would be waiting outside the door and the crammers would be mad."

"Hey, Josh." He almost ran into his longtime friend Sam Seaborn, who taught English at Washington High. "What, did you sleep in again? You know, your alarm clock sucks."

"You know, Sam, I do have your daughter in class. I would hate for her to have to pay the price for your sarcasm."

"Hey, wouldn't hurt. Plus, you're stuck with her tonight and how many other hyper teenagers?"

"You'll have your turn soon."

"I'll be sure to send lots of sugar." Sam yelled over his shoulder as he headed to his own classroom.

Just as Josh had predicted, a group of about ten students were gathered outside the locked door of his classroom.

"You kids are really pitiful, you know that, don't you?" Josh teased them as he fumbled with his keys.

"Mr. Lyman," started Andy, the class loudmouth, "We need time to study."

"Yes, Andy, it's called home."

"It's bad for your health to stay indoors all day, Mr. Lyman. Do you want me to be unhealthy?"

"I'll just keep my mouth shut." Josh pushed the door open and tossed his bag onto his desk. "Sorry, guys, we all slept in again." He ran a hand through his hair as he sat on the edge of his desk as the students streamed in.

"I'm feeling kind of generous today; I may be getting sick – but I'll give you ten minutes to cram."

I general sound of glee swept across the room as they all started flipping through their books, looking for last-minute a-ha's.

Across the school, Carly sat in Ms. Moss's junior English class chatting with her best friend, Courtney Seaborn.

"I'm so glad I'm staying at your house tonight, Carly." Courtney complained to her life-long friend. The girls had been through many things together throughout the years, connected through their parents. Courtney's mother Ainsley was like a second mother to her and she adored Sam. Courtney was feeling a little overwhelmed by all the extra parental attention and criticism she'd been getting since her older sister Alexandra had left for college last month.

"It can't be that bad, Courtney."

"They're on me about everything like stink on cheese!" She explained. "They can't bug Alex anymore because she doesn't hardly call home from Yale, so I get all the flack."

Carly just shrugged to her friend as she saw Ms. Moss about to begin at the front of the room. She thought Courtney was really just exaggerating a bit too much. They were teenagers – they were supposed to hate their parents, but Carly really didn't hate any of them.

"Okay, class, today we're beginning our discussion of The Scarlet Letter. I asked you to read the introduction and chapter one last night and there is a particular section in the intro I want to talk about. Ummm…" She surveyed her students. "Carly, would you please read the first paragraph for the class?"

Carly's heart dropped and she felt her face get hotter and her hands were getting clammy. She decided to stall and perhaps she'd get frustrated and pick someone else.

"Excuse me?"

Ms. Moss looked over at Carly confused and repeated her request. "The first paragraph. Will you please read it for the class?"

"I'd really rather not." Carly couldn't believe she'd actually gotten that out. She felt like diving under her desk or running out the room at the thought of reading aloud in class. She hadn't had to do that in years and the thought of all the embarrassment and feelings of inadequacy washed over her.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, I just…I…"

"I'll read, Ms. Moss." Courtney spoke up, who sat right in front of Carly.

"Alright, Courtney, go ahead." Donna was confused but could see that whatever it was, Carly seemed really afraid of reading aloud. She couldn't figure out why a seventeen year old girl wouldn't want to read out loud to the class. She knew she could read – she wouldn't be here otherwise. Donna knew her father and it just didn't seem like a possibility that Carly wouldn't be able to read. Donna contemplated what to do in her head as Courtney read aloud.

Donna had continued with her lesson after the altercation with Carly. Not knowing what was up, she didn't call on her again that day, but decided to ask her to stay after class.

As the bell rang, she called Carly over to her desk and waited for the other students to leave.

"Carly, stop being a dork. She needs to know." Donna heard Courtney tell her friend. Carly was looking a little unconfident as she approached the wooden desk at the front of the room.

Donna gave her student a reassuring smile as she came over. "Here, take a seat." She motioned to a chair close to the desk.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to be rude, Ms. Moss." She immediately apologized.

"Don't be sorry, Carly. I just want to know what's bothering you. Are you having problems at home or have a fight with someone?" She immediately went into the obvious.

"No, nothing like that. I…it's dumb really."

"No, go ahead. You can tell me." Donna prepared for the worst.

"Well, actually I have dyslexia. I just get really nervous when I have to read out loud because I stumble on the words a lot and I sound like an idiot."

Woah. Donna didn't see that one coming. Wasn't she supposed to be notified about things like this?

"Dyslexia? That's when you…"

"My brain. It's wired wrong. It makes reading a lot harder. My case isn't that bad, but enough for me to suck at reading out loud."

"Okay. And how about reading to yourself? Is that easier?"

"A little. I'm not so nervous about messing up. But it takes me a lot longer to read assignments."

"So, the assignment last night…"

"An hour and a half."

Donna's mouth gaped. That was probably twice the amount of time she expected for her students to spend on her reading assignments.

"I'm sorry, Carly. I had no idea."

"That's okay. Courtney and my dad help me a lot. They're both reading it with me and we talk about it after I'm done."

Donna's next class started to come into the room and Carly looked back in worry.

"Do you have time to come talk to me after school?" Donna asked her quickly.

Carly got up, wanting to get out of this situation. She really didn't want to talk to Ms. Moss about this anymore. She seemed nice enough, but this was just embarrassing – telling her teacher it took her twice as long to read the assignment. Carly didn't want to be a burden.

"Um…yeah, maybe. I'll try." She said as she walked backwards towards the door.

"Okay, please do."


	2. Chapter One Part Two

Chapter One Part Two

"Bye, Ms. Moss." Carly told her as she turned and bolted out the door as quickly as she could. As she walked down the hallway to her second period class, she took deep breaths to calm herself as non-chalantly as possible. She didn't even notice Principal Bartlet walking down the hall. Carly had also known him almost her entire life.

"Good morning, Carly!" He called as they passed in the hallway. She was in a daze and the greeting didn't register until he'd almost passed.

"Hi, Mr. Bartlet." She said at the last second. Carly didn't need any more people thinking she was an idiot. She hoped he wouldn't turn around to come talk to her.

Jed Bartlet thought to himself that Carly Lyman could be a bit of a flake sometimes, like her father, but smiled as he continued down the hallway. He was off to observe one of his new first-year teachers down in the science wing.

Jed walked into room 125 and took a seat near the back so he wouldn't be in the way of the lesson. A nervous Molly Ziegler saw him enter from her desk on the other side of the room. It had been a rough first few weeks of school for young Molly. She had no idea how she got a job at a school like this – one that she had attended years ago and was known to be top-rate. Plus, she had the added pressure to do well since her father, Toby, also taught speech and English here as well as a slew of family friends she'd known since birth. Molly knew Jed, Sam and Josh would do anything they could to support her, but the pressure was still overwhelming, not to even mention the fact that she was surrounded by all her high school teachers that expected great things from her.

Molly walked up to the front of the room as the bell rang and swept away a piece of hair in front of her face. She could do this. Just calm down, she told herself.

"Good morning, class. Today we're going to continue our discussion of the three and four stage insect life cycles. Please open up your textbooks and be ready to take notes."

Later in the day, Josh Lyman was just beginning his fourth period junior U.S. history class. The bell had rung five minutes before but there was one seat empty; one that troubled him quite a bit. Courtney Seaborn was known to be tardy, but not by an entire five minutes. Still, he needed to continue.

"Last time, as you may remember, we introduced the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance. Can any one recall what countries were involved in each?"

Courtney Seaborn then walked into class late. Josh could see the eyes of her classmates assessing the situation. Courtney was a popular, pretty girl with beautiful dark brown hair and brown eyes that sparkled when she smiled. Today, though, her eyes didn't sparkle – he could tell she'd been crying.

Josh paused in his lesson to look at the hall pass that she carried that possessed a signature from her dad. Josh knew that Sam had recently been troubled about his youngest daughter. Courtney was very close to her older sister Alex and now that she was gone at college, Courtney didn't seem to be herself. She seemed to have lost that role model in her life – she cared less about school; about her behavior; and Sam and Ainsley's now constant attention towards her was no doubt suffocating for the sixteen year old. Josh had known Courtney her entire life. She was a good kid, but this was a tough time for her.

Courtney could feel the eyes of her classmates glancing at her as she found her seat near the middle of the room.

"Nate, how about it?" Josh prompted him, since no one had answered his question. During the dead silence that followed, Josh furrowed his eyebrows and took a deep breathe, still elsewhere.

"Uhhh…I don't remember, Mr. Lyman."

Another sigh, this time annoyed that no one seemed to remember what he'd just talked about yesterday.

"Alright then, let's review a little."

Near the end of the class period, Josh gave the class five minutes to begin on their assignment for Monday.

"Courtney." Josh stood at the front of the row she was sitting at, hands in pockets, and motioned with his head to meet him out in the hallway. Courtney sighed, knowing that her Uncle Josh wouldn't let her leave looking so upset. Sometimes it was nice having so many people looking out for you and concerned for you, but it also meant that she many extra sets of eyes and ears keeping tabs on her.

Josh looked over his class and saw that they were all working quietly, so he waited for Courtney to walk to the door before following her out. Closing the door, he shoved his hands in his pockets again and tilted his head to the side. Courtney folded her arms across her chest and looked across the hall at the lockers instead of her Uncle Josh.

"Did something happen with your dad?" Josh started, bringing up the fact that he'd sent her to class late with a pass.

"When has it not in the last month?" She replied sarcastically. Courtney, of course, would never confide in other teachers the way she sometimes did with her Uncles, but she knew Josh all her life and could talk to him like she had.

Josh breathed out, this situation all too familiar in the last school year. He'd been stuck in the middle of this – hearing it from both sides. Sam and Ainsley were frustrated at her sudden turn in personality and justly concerned. She'd changed since Alex had left. They all missed Alex.

"What happened this time?"

"I got my third tardy in Mrs. Russell's class today, so she had to give me an after-school detention. When I was down in the office, my dad came down to check his mail and he was kind of pissed."

It was only the fourth week of school and she already had three tardies?

"You already have three tardies?" Josh's eyebrows jumped up and he gave her that parental look that she hated so much – that she got from all of them when she was in trouble.

"Uncle Josh, I don't need to hear it from you too!"

"So you were late because he was talking to you?"

"Talking? More like yelling."

That was a bit of an exaggeration. Josh knew Sam didn't yell.

"In the main office in front of everyone there?"

"No, he took me to the copy room."

Josh rubbed his face before continuing. "Courtney, you know I don't like to take sides, but you can't keep getting tardies. Think about how that makes your dad feel as a teacher at this school."

Josh immediately regretted saying that. It wasn't fair to hold Courtney and all their kids to a higher standard simply because their parents taught here. But it _was_ embarrassing to have your own kid get in trouble at the school you worked at. How does it make you look to your other students, other teachers, and to the principal?

"Uncle Josh, he could've waited until after school at least! It was so embarrassing!" She was beginning to cry again and Josh felt his heart strings being pulled.

"Alright, Courtney. It's over now." He pulled her into a hug. "You were tardy three times so you got detention. Same as the other kids."

Courtney pulled back and wiped her eyes.

"Here." Josh pulled out a clean tissue from his pocket. "Why don't you go to the bathroom and clean up, okay? And we can talk more tonight if we need to."

Courtney nodded and as she turned Josh gave her a reassuring pat on the back. He'd hear Sam's side later on in the day and maybe that would help him when he talked to Courtney tonight. Anything out of Sam or Ainsley's mouths nowadays seemed to just pass between their daughter's ears like it was elevator music. He knew Sam was at his rope's end with her and just hoped he could help out in some way.

Molly Ziegler walked out of the main office during the last period of the day. She didn't have a class the last period, so Mr. Bartlet had called her down to talk about his observation. She'd done fine, but there were still many improvements to be made. He thought the assignments needed to be more challenging and she needed to use her classroom time more efficiently. Mr. Bartlet had been reassuring to her, but she still felt a little bummed. As a first year teacher, she still had so much to learn; things she hadn't even thought of before. She got back to her room just in time to hear the closing bell ring. TGIF, she thought to herself. Molly was sorting through her piles and piles of papers to grade when her dad knocked on the door, knowing that she had been observed today.

"How'd it go?" He said up front, a pile of things bunched under his right arm with his other hand perched on his hip at the doorway.

Molly sighed and smiled, trying to think again of the good things that had happened at her meeting with Mr. Bartlet.

"It went okay, but I…I just have so much to learn. I don't know if I'm…I don't know."

Toby could see she'd had a rough time so he closed her door and walked over to her desk, pulling up a chair as she rested her head in frustration in her left hand.

"You got through it, Mols. That's the hardest part. The first observation can be scary."

"He said my assignments weren't challenging enough and I wasted a lot of class time."

"Those things are hard to get. You'll get a better understanding after a while."

Molly just felt like bursting in to tears deep down inside. Teaching was harder than she'd ever expected. Her sudden lack of free time and large workload was daunting at the least. Sometimes she wished she hadn't picked a profession where she had to jump in and do what some had been doing for thirty years. There was no beginning bottom-line job that she could start at and work her way up – she was doing a job that her father had done for twenty-five years that he says he still hasn't perfected. Maybe she should have picked a job like her brother Huck, who was going into journalism. He could start out at little jobs and work his way up.

Toby knew how hard Molly could be on herself. She'd been this way all her life and knew that she'd have a hard time all of a sudden not being the best at something. Molly had always been at the top of her classes, praised by her teachers and supervisors, but she was finding this really difficult. Having gone through the same thing many years ago, all he could do was tell her to hang in there. It would get better, but it was still hard.

"Molly, you will be a great teacher. Everyone's first year can be rough, but I can tell you that you're doing a better job than you think you're doing. You're working your tail off and doing the best you can, and that's all you can do."

Though she knew her dad was just trying to help, it was also just a reminder of how much work she had to do and how much she had to learn.

"Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? I'm not gonna cook, but we can order a pizza."

"Actually, I was going to go out with some friends."

"Okay. Call me or come see me if you need to. And you know you can go bug Uncle Josh and Uncle Sam if you need to" Even though she was twenty two years old, Toby still leaned over and kissed her on the head. Sometimes a woman needed her father still too. "I love you."

"I love you too, dad."

Carly made her way through the halls of Washington High, thankful it was finally the end of the week. Schoolwork took her forever to do and as a member of the girls' varsity soccer team, she had a lot on her plate and hardly any time just to hang out with her friends. That's why she was so much looking forward to tonight. She'd also decided to sidestep Ms. Moss's request to come talk to her after school. Ms. Moss was nice enough but she didn't want her to think she couldn't do the work required. Sometimes she found that when teachers knew about her dyslexia, they could get annoyed at having to adjust the assignments and at her slow pace. So finally, this year, she decided not to tell her teachers about her disorder. She could get the work done and didn't want anyone thinking she was uncapable. Why did Ms. Moss have to pry into her life?

"How's Tuesday after school for you?" Josh looked up at a student as he leaned over his desk at the end of the day. Peter Foswell had acted us for the last time, so he was given detention.

Peter made a face as he looked at the slip. Mr. Lyman looked up after waiting for an answer. Carly walked in the door with her stuff all ready to go. Josh looked over at her. "Hey, sweetheart."

"Hey, dad." She sat down at one of the front row desks and rested her head in her right hand.

Josh looked back at Peter. "I'll take the silence as a yes." He signed the paper, ripped off his copy and handed the pink to Peter. "Room 102, Tuesday afternoon." Peter snatched up the paper and walked out the room.

Josh stood up straight and tapped his knuckled on the desk as he looked at Carly. "I guess my evil dad look doesn't work on everybody." He said calmly with that ever-present hint of humor.

Josh was thankful that his oldest was the type of kid you only had to give a look at to tell her she'd done something wrong, which hardly ever happened. Carly was mature and responsible for her age and almost felt like an adult herself. She was a mother figure to her little sister and went to great lengths to look out for her and talk to her when her dad couldn't get through. Carly and Brandon were also very close as siblings, and he talked to her about a lot of his problems. She'd been faced with a tough situation with her mother dying at such a young age and had taken on a lot of responsibility. Her dad often forgot that she was still just a kid and was perhaps guilty of expecting too much of her. She could handle so much, and unfortunately a lot got dumped on her. Josh didn't realize how much pressure he put on her and sometimes neither did Carly.

Josh jokingly gave Carly the evil dad look with one hand on his hip. Carly snapped her head to the side to look away, covering her eyes, and let out an annoyed moan.

"Daaaaad!" She complained. Josh laughed out loud at her.

"So, how many awful things did you do today?"

"I beat up a freshman and stole his lunch money. I'm on my way to world domination."

"Just make sure your homework gets done. I just need to finish a few things. I'll only be about fifteen more minutes."

"Can I watch TV?" She asked, giving him a sweet smile and flashing her blue eyes at him.

"No MTV." He told her. Carly rolled her eyes and grabbed the remote control. Propping her feet up on the seat next to her, she began to flip through the channels.

About ten minutes later, a concerned Donna Moss knocked on Josh's classroom door. Carly hadn't shown up after school to talk to her and so she decided to go ask her dad about what had happened. She didn't understand why she wasn't told about her disorder.

"Mr. Lyman?" Josh h eard a female voice call from the doorway. He'd just taken a sip of his coffee and when he turned to see Donna, he almost spit it out, but quickly choked it back, coughing a little afterwards. Carly's heart dropped. Crap! Was she mad at her? She never thought about her coming to talk to her dad. Idiot!

"Donna!" He said, trying to compose himself as he stood up. Oh, God, she was so beautiful. Ever since Donnatella Moss had started teaching at Washington High, Josh felt like he was back in high school and had a crush on the cheerleading captain and he was the dorky kid in the chess club. He said the most idiotic things when talking to her. "What are you doing here?"

Donna chuckled a little. "Actually I needed to talk to Carly, but I think I need to have a word with you too."

Josh looked over at his daughter, who looked like she was a deer in headlights. Josh rarely saw that look plastered on his daughter's face, so he knew something was going on, and he figured it wasn't good news. Ever since he found out Carly was in her class, he'd asked Carly endless questions about her, trying not to sound like a drooling idiot. Josh hadn't felt this excited about seeing any female since…well, his wife. That beautiful long blonde hair; her dazzling smile; her great sense of humor, not to mention those beautiful, long legs. Concentrate. Concentrate, Josh.

Carly stood up before Josh could say anything.

"Ms. Moss, I'm sorry. I forgot. I mean, I was about to come down, but…"

"It's okay, Carly. I'm not mad, I'm just concerned. I don't understand why you didn't tell me before."

"Tell you what?" Josh jumped in, walking around his desk and perching himself on the edge. He looked back and forth between his daughter and Donna. Carly didn't want to answer. She hadn't told her dad that she wasn't telling her teachers about her disorder. He just assumed that Carly would take care of that. She was always responsible about things like that.

"About her dyslexia." Donna told him, looking at Carly. Josh looked back at his daughter, confused.

"Carly? She didn't know about your dyslexia?" Josh crossed his arms and Carly felt like she was suddenly back in third grade and she was in trouble for not cleaning her room. When Carly didn't say anything and just stared at the ground, Josh kept going. "Why didn't you tell her the first day?"

"I just didn't want her to know." Carly's voice was soft and defeated. Puzzled, Josh took the seat next to Carly. Following suit, Donna took the seat on the other side of the young student.

"Carly, your teachers need to know because it affects your learning."

"I know."

"But what?" Josh asked her.

"I don't want them to think I can't do the work."

"Them?" Josh was listening to her pronouns carefully. "You haven't told your other teachers either?" Carly let out an annoyed sigh.

Donna could sense that perhaps Carly's previous teachers had made her feel like a burden. "Carly, it's not a problem for me to change your assignments a little to make it a little easier. There's no shame in that and I don't think any less of you for asking. And you don't have to read out loud to the class if it makes you so nervous."

Bingo, Josh thought to himself. Carly hated reading aloud with a passion. It made her disorder so out in the open and visible to others and she felt humiliated and ashamed. She hated to be thought of as weak in any way, especially when she needed to be strong for her dad and her siblings. For years in elementary school, she would come home crying if the teacher asked her to read in class. She would stutter and stumble over the words so badly and some of the kids made fun of her, not understanding what dyslexia did to her reading skills. Donna had no way of knowing about this, but she felt really bad for Carly. She hoped she didn't embarrass her.

"Did you read out loud, Carly?" Josh asked her gently. He saw a tear escape her eye and she quickly wiped it away. Josh couldn't tell if it was because she thought she was in trouble, or embarrassed at how it had been discovered, or some of the painful memories that went along with it. "Sweetheart, we're not mad. We both just want to help you."

"No, I didn't." She sniffled. "I told her I didn't want to." Josh could tell she was really upset.

"Okay." Josh rubbed his face. "Sweetheart, I need to speak with Ms. Moss for a few minutes, so why don't you head on down to the teacher lounge and get yourself a coke." He stood up and pulled out his wallet and handed a still sniffling Carly a dollar and a tissue. Donna gave her student a reassuring smile as she left. As he watched his daughter leave, Josh ran a hand through his hair, still facing away from Donna.

"I'm sorry, she's never done this before." He told her, turning around to face Donna.

"No, don't be sorry. I'm just glad that I know now. I feel so bad that she was struggling and not telling anyone."

"There was no way you could have known. She's always told her teachers right up front about her disorder. She's been getting a lot more homework than last year, so now I know why. Nobody knows. So, you found out when she refused to read?"

"I talked to her after class and she finally opened up and told me. I asked her to come talk to me after school, but I guess she didn't want to."

"This is so not like her." Josh shook his head and looked at the floor. "She's always been so responsible. There was no need for her to be struggling like this."

"Well I'm glad I know so I can help her now. But I have to be honest, I don't know much about dyslexia." Donna hoped that he would volunteer to tell her about it. There was something about this man that intrigued her. He seemed cocky and sure of himself but had a real sensitive side, like she was seeing right now. She'd heard he had a soft spot for his kids, though he had a very collected, unruffled composure.

Josh didn't know if he should take the chance or not. He had to admit it: he had a crush on Donnatella Moss. Who wouldn't? But he didn't know much about her personal life. Was she married?

"Well, uh…" He stuttered. "I could teach you about it…um…maybe Sunday evening? I mean, if your husband doesn't mind." He tried, finally making eye contact at the end.

Donna saw how flustered the cool, collected Josh Lyman was and smiled to herself at the question.

"I'm divorced."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't sure if…"

"Don't worry. I'd love to learn more about Carly. Sunday would be great."

Josh's heart increased rapidly. Hee! She said yes! And she was

available!

"Great!" He said, not knowing what else to do, a big goofy grin on his face. Donna waited a few moments, waiting for him to tell her where to meet.

"Um, should we meet…"

Josh, you idiot!

"Oh, right!" He cursed himself. "Let me give you my address and my phone number. Do you know the city very well yet?"

"I can get around."

Josh felt a nervous excitement all throughout his body that surfaced in his slightly shaking fingers as he scribbled his address and number down quickly.

"Here you go. Is seven o'clock alright with you?"

"That sounds great!" Donna got up and Josh handed her the piece of paper. "I'll see you then. Tell Carly to have a great weekend."

Who? Oh, right. Carly.

"I will." At the last moment, Josh gave her a thumbs up and a huge smile. When she left, he started hitting himself on the head. "You're such an idiot!" He yelled.

"I know." Brandon's voice told him from the doorway.

"Ha ha."

"Are you ready to leave? I'm sure Maddy's getting all bent out of shape."

Josh turned and looked at the huge pile on his desk he was supposed to be sorting through.

"Almost. Will you go get Carly from the teacher's lounge for me?"

"Yeah. Why's she in there?"

"Long story. But she may be a little upset."

"What did she do?" Brandon asked, fascinated whenever his older sister was in trouble. She never got in trouble.

"She's not in trouble!" Josh cleared up.

"I never get to hear about the good stuff."

Brandon left the room to go get his sister and Josh quickly started piling the papers into his messenger bag and he started to sing to himself.

"Donna Moss is coming to my house…I hope she wears that low-cut blouse…I want to kiss her on the mouth…"

Carly had started to walk back from the teacher lounge already and had met her brother in the hallway. Together, they headed back to their dad's room when they'd heard singing from outside.

"Dad! You're disgusting!"

Josh just smiled and slung his messenger bag onto his shoulder.

"Not a word, kids, not a word."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey! The abandoned fic returns! Like I said, I was having a really rough time last fall and really didn't feel like writing. I hate to not finish anything, though, so I'm gonna try to finish this one, but no promises! Thanks to all my faithful readers! Please review -

The three Lymans strolled down the hallway of Washington High a few minutes later. A bystander may have laughed at the way Brandon and Josh were walking. He had inherited his father's swagger somehow, always appearing cocky and sure of himself. Carly walked like any other teen girl, but didn't have her usual pep after being found out.

"So what did you do?" Brandon asked his sister.

"She's not in trouble!" Josh exclaimed again incredulously. Carly didn't say a word, letting her father speak for her this one time. She really didn't have time for her brother's antics right now, and she was in no mood for it. They hopped into their Jeep and drove home, Josh and Brandon exchanging a little light conversation, but Carly keeping to herself. Josh knew his daughter well, and when she was silent, she was upset.

When they got home, Carly immediately dashed up the stairs to her room, not even bothering to get a snack. Josh grabbed two sodas, and excused himself from Brandon, who'd switched on MTV in the living room. He trotted up the stairs to find his daughter's room closed and some angry Kelly Clarkson playing softly in the background. Josh knocked politely, hearing permission to come in.

"Hey." Josh smiled as he closed the door. Carly was busy trying to pick up her room, seeing as she didn't have time during the school week. He took a seat on her unmade bed, from their mad dash this morning. Well, she didn't usually make it anyway, despite his constant reminders. "Are you okay?"

Carly stopped and huffed at her father. Did he really have to go for the obvious all the time? Obviously, she was still upset.

"Carly, you don't have to be mad about it."

"I'm not mad." She threw a shirt in the hamper.

"Then what are you?" He asked honestly. Mally saw that was a stupid thing to say to her dad, because he could always see right through her. She continued to toss things in the hamper as she thought of an answer.

"I'm just…pissed."

"Pissed at me? Or Ms. Moss?"

"Sort of. Mostly just at me. It was a dumb thing to do."

"Sweetheart, you don't need to be ashamed. I'm sure it's difficult to always have to ask for help and adjustments, and I'm sure you get tired of being treated differently. Some of your teachers may have been unfair to you in the past, but I think Ms. Moss really cares."

"I know she does." Carly said quietly.

"But what?"

"I just want to be able to do it, you know?" She said, and Josh could tell she was getting really upset again. He stood up and brought her into a hug.

"Hey, it's alright." He shushed her as he heard his daughter start to cry a little bit. Josh gently stroked her hair and back as he let her calm down. He didn't pretend to know what she felt like, because he didn't. Carly appreciated the delicate balance he took with her. He tried to encourage her to be independent with her schoolwork, but at the same time knew she still needed lots of support and encouragement. Josh had worked hard to raise a self-confident, hard-working girl, but it was hard, especially without a positive female role model. She finally pulled back, wiping her eyes, but still looking beautiful in his eyes.

"Sorry." She smiled sheepishly.

"Don't apologize. That's what you're feeling." He gave her a wink. "Besides, you've got a sleepover to look forward to." He reminded her as he walked towards her door, stepping over many items of clothing and books. "I need to go pick up Maddy in a few minutes, but I'll be downstairs with Brandon if you need me, alright?"

"Thanks, dad." She told him, and went back to cleaning her outrageously messy room. Carly was such a slob.

CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI

"You can go to the Lyman's tonight, but tomorrow afternoon we're having a talk about your behavior." Sam Seaborn told his sixteen year old daughter, as he drove her to her friend's house that night. Earlier that day, he'd found out she already got a detention for too many tardies and it was only a month into the school year. He knew that if he didn't take care of this now, it would only get worse with Courtney. She was the type of child who liked to try things to see how much she could get away with, so he'd adapted his parenting approach with her.

"Whatever." She said, typically teen. Courtney was so sick of being the center of attention now that her sister was off at college. She missed her so much, and now her life was under a microscope. Her parents had all the time in the world to monitor her every move now, which is not something you wanted at the age of sixteen.

"Hey," I raised his voice a little to let her know he didn't like her attitude. They pulled into the Lyman's driveway. "Your mother and I are worried about you."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"We know you can do so much better than you're doing right now. We just want you to succeed."

"Okay, dad. Bye!" She said, getting out of the car and slamming the door. Courtney was so glad that she would be spending a night away from her parents, but at the same time, had a big lecture hanging over her head. She walked up to the front door and rang the bell. Maddy answered, dressed in her gymnastics uniform with Adidas active pants on, sipping a Capri Sun.

"Hi, Courtney." She said. Maddy had grown up around her older sister and Courtney, and she knew all their drama. She knew more than her family gave her credit for. The gymnast was like a stealthy animal, knowing and seeing all that went on in the house. If there was juice, she knew about it. She politely let in Courtney and yelled up the stairs.

"Carly! Courtney's here." She walked back into the living room where she was watching TV with her dad and brother. They would try to stay away from all the teenage girls tonight, but they knew they couldn't escape the noise.

Maddy looked down the stairs and motioned for her best friend to come up, wanting to still avoid her family. They'd both had a pretty rotten day, so they would surely blow off some steam tonight. Carly let her friend in her room and closed the door, both letting out a huge sigh of relief to finally have a familiar friendly face to talk to.

"Oh my God!" Courtney practically screamed. "Will they ever leave me alone?" She plopped onto Carly's bed. "I can't take it anymore. You're lucky you only have one parent."

"Courtney. Shut up." Carly told her, still sensitive about her mother.

"Sorry. But, I mean, they hound me all the time now that Alex is at college. At least you have two siblings at home."

"I got busted on not letting my teachers know about my dyslexia." She confessed. Courtney had encouraged her to tell Ms. Moss, because she knew how stressed her friend had been.

"Good." Courtney told her, biting her fingernails, a habit she brought out when she was upset. Carly rolled her eyes. "What?"

"You're just like my dad."

"Excuse me?" That was an insult, to say the least. "I'm like an adult? Please! You make me giggle."

"They're gonna talk more about me, and I think my dad has the hots for Ms. Moss."

"Why do you say that?" She was all ears. Even if it was adult romance, she was still excited about it.

"I walked in on him getting all giddy about it. I guess she's coming over Sunday to talk about it."

"Another teacher is coming to your house? That's creepy."

"Court, we're around teachers all the time." Carly reminded her. It was true, and it was a blessing and a curse. They could get extra help with homework, had access to leftover treats for the staff, but also were under more watchful eyes. It was a double-edged sword.

"Well, I like Ms. Moss. I think she'd be good for your dad."

"Courtney." She said, not believing her friend was excited about this. "My dad isn't ready to date anyone."

"Why not? Your mom died, what, twelve years ago? He needs to move on."

Carly just ignored her, not wanting to think about her dad being romantically interested in someone, especially her own teacher. Ugh.

"Forget about it. Let's just have some fun." Carly decided, turning up the music. They giggled and chatted as they waited for the other girls to arrive, anxious to let off a lot of built-up steam.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy!

The other girls arrived at the Lymans', and the sleepover took full swing. Josh and Brandon tried to stay downstairs, out of the way, but Maddy kept peeking looks, curious as to what they were up to. She was ten years old and looked up to her older sister. Without a mother, Carly was the maternal figure for the young girl, something Carly knew all too well. She knew she had to be a model for her younger sister, and it was sometimes exhausting. She sometimes didn't feel like she was able to be a regular teen. Carly had big shoes to fill.

"What do you think about this one?" Courtney asked her friends. She had brought over numerous tank tops and jeans to model to decide what to wear on her date tomorrow night. Luke Mardor had finally asked her out this week for Saturday night. It was the one thing she had to look forward to.

"I like the other one better." Megan said. The other one was more low-cut and showed a little bit of cleavage. Her father would never let her out of the house showing cleavage.

"My dad would kill me." Courtney admitted.

"So wear a shirt over it." Megan told her. Though Courtney didn't quite get along with her parents right now, she still didn't really enjoy trying to pull one over on them. But then again, she looked really hot in it.

"You think that would work?" She asked her friends. They all nodded, and she threw a modest Henley shirt over top of it. That would work.

"Alright, I'll go for it."

Josh knocked at the door over the loud chick music, and Carly turned it down for a moment.

"Come in!"

Josh opened the door and leaned in, but wasn't planning on staying.

"Will you turn it down a bit, sweetheart? We can't hear the movie."

"Oh, yeah." She said, glancing at the stereo. "Sorry, we'll keep it down."

"Courtney, can I talk to you too for a minute?" He asked her, motioning with his head. Courtney had almost forgotten Josh's promise earlier. He knew she was upset, and offered to talk about it when she came over. Courtney looked around at her friends for a moment. She couldn't tell whether they thought it was funny, sweet, or really dorky. Courtney decided she didn't care and got up to leave. She followed Josh downstairs into the dining room, away from the music, and away from Carly's brother and sister.

"You look like you're doing better now." Josh admitted as they sat at the table. Courtney was comfortable, and leaned back on the chair, propping her knees on the edge of the table.

"Yeah, I'm not at home, so things are good." She smirked a little bit. Josh knew their family was going through a rough time. Sam and Ainsley really missed their daughter, as well as Courtney, but in different ways. Their nest was slowly becoming empty, so they seemed to tighten their hold on their younger daughter, savoring the time they had left with her. Courtney missed having someone to share her parents' attention with. She loved her parents, but they were just too much. At least she had someone to rant too with her older sister here.

"How can I help?" He asked her bluntly. Josh was all about getting things done, moving ahead, and solving problems. Courtney raised her eyebrows, not quite knowing how to answer.

"Get them to stop?"

"Stop doing what?" Josh immediately answered. He didn't think Courtney quite knew exactly what was bothering her, so he was going to make her spell it out for both him and herself.

"Being…assholes."

"Courtney." He warned her. Josh had been friends with her parents forever.

"Sorry. They just won't leave me alone. They think I can't handle myself."

"Well, have you done anything to make them believe you couldn't?"

"I don't know."

Josh tilted his head to the side and studied her. She knew exactly what she did.

"Okay, okay. So I like to have a little fun, but who doesn't? And so what if I don't get straight A's all the time."

"You're perfectly capable of straight A's."

"B's are fine."

"But you're not average."

"A 'B' is above average." She argued.

"You are well above average, Courtney, and you know it. They want you to succeed and put forth effort."

"Well, maybe I don't want to get into an Ivy League school." She pointed out. "I'd be just fine going to a public university."  
"That's fine if you want to, but are you just saying that because they want you to?"

Courtney thought for a moment. She wasn't quite sure.

"Think about that this weekend." Josh told her, slapping the table lightly. Courtney got up, and started to walk away. She guessed their talk kind of help, but then again, Josh was probably on her parents' side. But he had never steered her wrong. Courtney rejoined her friends upstairs.

CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI CSI

The next day, the five teenage girls that were sleeping in Carly's room were still fast asleep after most likely a late night at 10 a.m. Josh was trying to get Madeline going by making her a good breakfast of pancakes and fruit in preparation for her gymnastics meet today. Surprisingly, Madeline hardly ever got nervous before a meet. She had a few butterflies in her stomach, but for the most part, she was always fine.

Josh was singing to himself as he scooped the pancakes out of the pan and dished them out onto Maddy's plate.

"Daddy, you're so weird." She told him as she poured on the syrup.

"Oh, she's my sweet little thing!" Josh sang, "She's my pride and joy!"

Maddy just shook her head, and Brandon tramped down the stairs, his hair all bed-heady in his pj's.

"You making some for me?" He asked his father, taking a seat at the

breakfast bar.

"I can." Josh said, and he went back to work, pouring the batter into the pan. Brandon glanced over at his sister. His dad only cooked breakfast when she had a big meet.

"You have a meet today?" He asked her. Maddy rolled her eyes unbelievably, and glanced down at her gymnastics uniform jumpsuit she was wearing.

"Duh!" She told him.

"Maddy, be nice." Josh told her, as the batter sizzled.

"You nervous?" He asked his little sister, as he stole a bit of banana from her plate.

"She's never nervous." Josh said for her.

"Not really, but there's supposed to be this really good girl there today. Ali Parsons?"

Josh thought about the name, thinking it sounded familiar. Donna had a daughter in gymnastics, she knew, but it mustn't be her, because she didn't have the same last name.

"Is she older or younger?"

"Eleven, I think."

"Don't worry. You'll kick her ass." Brandon told her, as Josh dished out his pancakes.

"Language, Brandon."

"I can't say 'ass'?"

"We don't kick people's asses in this house."

"It won't be in this house, it'll be at the gym." Brandon reasoned.

Maddy quickly finished her pancakes, because they were running late. She had her uniform on underneath her jumpsuit, and her hair was already clipped up in a high ponytail and doused generously with hair spray. She would need to stay away from all flames and fire.

"Gotta run." Josh told his son, and ruffled his hair as he scooted Maddy out the door. "Oh, and tell the girls they need to clean up before they leave."

"Yep." Brandon called over his shoulder. He was looking forward to seeing all the girls in their pj's.

But for now, Brandon had the entire living room and the big screen tv to himself, so he switched on ESPN. He had some peace and solace for now, until the girls woke up.


End file.
